Tacolicious plots a Palo Alto location

The taco joint from Joe Hargrave — and partners Antelmo Faria and Mike Barrow — started in July 2009 as a stand at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Since then, they’ve opened two successful brick-and-mortar locations, in the Marina and the Mission.

Next up, they’re headed to Palo Alto.

Tacolicious Tres is slated to open in the space that currently houses Mantra, which is still open. Do note that the deal has one contingency still in place, but no problems are expected over the next few weeks. Construction is anticipated to begin in a month or so.

When Mantra closes, owner Ashwani Dhawan will still keep his catering business. He’s also opening SliderBar Cafe in the Castro’s old Bagdad Cafe.

The Tacolicious/Mantra remodel will be extensive, and when all is said and done, the new spot will be about 80 seats. Local artist Paul Madonna, who is responsible for the Dolores Park mural at the Mission location, will create a mural on one of the walls. This time, it will be of the Ferry Building and the Embarcadero, where Tacolicious was born.

For the most part, the same smart taco-centric, Tequila-fueled formula can be expected, but unlike the Mission spot, there will be no Mosto; that was a one-off, says Hargrave. Also, Hargrave is quick to point out that even with three locations, Tacolicious is still privately owned by the aforementioned crew.